A robust poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) surface treatment was utilized for the development of a self-pumping lab-on-a-chip (LOC) to rapidly detect minute quantities of toxic substances. One such toxin, botulinum neurotoxin (BoNT), is an extremely lethal substance, which has the potential to cause hundreds of thousands of fatalities if as little as a few grams are released into the environment. T...

BACKGROUND Quantitative numerical analysis of skin displacement triggered by muscles inserting the overlaying skin would be useful for monitoring the inhibition of mimetic muscles. METHODS By using removable grid markings and digital photographs, skin displacement analysis (SDA) was performed on 13 patients pre-treatment and on Days 1, 2, 3, and 7 after injection of 18 units of botulinum toxi...

Cephalic allodynia (CA) can be observed in 50-70% of patients with chronic migraine (CM). The aim of this trial was to assess the efficacy of botulinum toxin type A (Botx-A) in the treatment of CA associated with CM. In this placebo-controlled trial, patients were randomized either into Botx-A or 0.9% saline injections and efficacy measures were assessed every 4 weeks for 3 months. Efficacy end...

Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) is a recurrent scarring suppurative disease of the apocrine gland-bearing areas of the body that usually affects the intertriginous areas. Prepubertal HS is a rare condition; fewer than 2% of patients have onset of the disease before the age of 11. Management of HS, in children and adults, may be difficult because of its chronic nature and lack of response to stand...

BACKGROUND Several randomized, controlled studies have reported benefits of botulinum toxin type A (BoNTA; Allergan Inc., Irvine, CA, USA) over placebo in the treatment of migraine. Some studies reported significant benefits at dosages as low as 16 U, while other studies reported safety, tolerability, and efficacy at dosages up to 260 U. However, the optimal treatment paradigm and patient popul...

In the past fifty years, no recorded case of botulism has been attributed to surface ripened cheese (NIeyer and Eddie, 1950). When cheese spread was prepared from one type of surface ripened cheese, botulinum toxin was demonstrated in only one out of several million jars (Dauer, 1952). The fact that botulism was never observed with the original surface ripened cheese from which cheese spreads w...

Objective Essential Palatal Tremor (PT) is a disorder in which radiological brain images appear normal but the clicking noise caused by peritubal, palatal muscle contractions remains the main complaint of patients. The condition occurs rarely in childhood. This paper demonstrates such a rare case with bilateral presentation of essential PT in a 12-yr-old girl could successfully be treated with ...

The authors present the results of 84 musicians with focal task-specific dystonia treated with EMG-guided botulinum toxin injections. Treatment outcome was assessed by subjective estimation of playing before and after treatment and self-rating of treatment response. Fifty-eight (69%) of the musicians experienced improvement from the injections and 30 of 84 musicians (36%) reported long-term ben...

To characterize satisfaction with current standard-of-care botulinum neurotoxin type A (BoNT/A) treatment for blepharospasm, we performed a cross-sectional, structured survey in subjects with blepharospasm who had received ≥2 BoNT/A cycles. Subjects were interviewed immediately before re-injection to evaluate treatment satisfaction, time course of treatment effects, preferred injection interval...

PURPOSE To determine the long-term results of botulinum therapy in acquired esotropia and to identify predictors of a satisfactory outcome. METHODS Sixty-eight children (age range, 8-64 months) with acquired esotropia were enrolled in a prospective study. Botulinum toxin A was injected in the two medial recti. Motor and sensory statuses were evaluated at 1 and 2 weeks; 3, 6, and 12 months; an...